Magnets travel badly when they travel alone. A loose magnet rattling in a box will chip its edges, stick to the box walls and snap onto anything steel nearby. Good magnet shipping is mostly good packaging, plus a few logistics rules.
Packaging: protect against impact
- Cushion everything — sintered NdFeB is brittle, and two magnets knocking together will chip or crack. Use foam, cardboard or plastic separators so parts never touch.
- Prevent magnet-to-magnet snap — strong magnets pull together through thin dividers. Give each magnet its own slot, or stack them pole-to-pole with a separator between.
- Neutralize the field — a steel keeper bar across the poles dramatically reduces the stray field, making packages safer to handle and easier to pass inspections.
Magnetic shielding
If the stray field still leaks, wrap the box in a steel shielding layer. The field is channeled to circulate inside, so little escapes — the standard fix for air freight, and it never involves demagnetizing the product. Large consignments need several layers, then an outer carton.
Logistics rules
- Air freight — magnetic materials are Class 9 dangerous goods under IATA rules. Packages above the field limit need shielding and a magnetic inspection report; see air freight rules for the full picture.
- Sea and ground — no field limits apply, so large consignments usually travel this way, simply and cheaply.
- Labeling — mark the outer carton as magnetic material and tell the carrier what is inside before booking.
Make cushioning, separators and shielding part of your normal export packing. Shipments that are compliant by default never fail an inspection at the airport.
Read on: air freight rules and the inspection report → · coatings that protect magnets in transit →